Carlos Tevez delivers as Manchester City escapes Swansea

Manchester City, England, United Kingdom (4E Sports) – Carlos Tevez delivered a goal in the 61st minute to lift defending champion Manchester City past Swansea, 1-0, Saturday in a Premier League showdown at Etihad Stadium.

The victory moved Manchester City to solo second place with 21 points, just one point behind Chelsea. The loss dropped Swansea to sixth place with 11 points.

Tevez broke the deadlock with a stunning strike from 25 yards past goalkeeper Michel Vorm, who was taken out of the game with an injury after fully extending his body to block the goal.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart also made several key stops, including two from Michu, to earn his second clean sheet of the year.

The victory, however, came with a heavy price as Micah Richards suffered a serious-looking knee injury and had to be taken out on a stretcher wearing an oxygen mask. He already missed two months of action because of injuries.

Roberto Mancini made several adjustments to his defensive formation following a loss in the UEFA Champions League to Ajax, dropping Joleon Lescott for Matija Nastasic and fielded two left-backs, Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov.

City had a chance to score early but kicks by Mario Balotelli and Sergio Aguero failed to find their marks.

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta scored in the 84th minute as Arsenal snapped a two-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over struggling Queens Park Rangers at Emirates Stadium

“I am very happy with the result because we lost two big games in our head, and the confidence was a bit jaded. We were serious, we moved the ball quite well and we needed to be patient today. It is a QPR team with quality, I don’t think they will stay at the bottom,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

The victory propelled Arsenal to a fourth-place tie with Everton with 15 points while QPR dropped to the bottom still searching for its first Premier League win.

In other matches, Wigan Athletic beat West Ham United, 2-1 while Stoke City and Sunderland battled to a scoreless draw. Aston Villa and Norwich City ended in a 1-1 tie while Reading and Fulham settled for a 3-3 draw.

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